Yahoo News 28 Jan 11;
BRASILIA (AFP) – Environmentalists and indigenous people Thursday defiantly rejected the Brazilian government's decision allowing work to begin on a giant hydroelectric dam, while the state prosecutor filed an appeal to suspend the ruling.
Brazil's environmental agency on Wednesday approved "necessary infrastructure" for the controversial $15-billion Belo Monte dam, which would become the third-largest in the world.
The ruling authorizes Norte Energia to clear almost 600 acres of forest and build roads to the Xingu River, a tributary of the Amazon River in the northeast Brazilian state of Para.
Sixty civic groups and non-governmental organizations representing everyone from environmentalists to local peasants have formed a coalition called "Xingu Lives Forever."
The coalition, in a statement, called the government's ruling a "dictatorial act," adding that they were "going to continue opposing this project with all our might.
The dam's opponents, supported by the likes of Hollywood film director James Cameron, argue that it's "not economically viable" and will displace 16,000 people because of the planned flooding on the banks of the Xingu River.
State prosecutor Felicio Pontes filed an appeal, arguing that agreed-upon conditions have not been met, particularly concerning the rehabilitation of degraded zones.
"Due to decisions like this, we can say today, (the environmental agency) is the author of the worst offense against the environment in the Amazon," Pontes said.
The federal government says Belo Monte is vital to the economic development of the country. It has said that no native land is threatened and that it is spending millions of dollars to offset the social and environmental impacts of the dam.
